Cops' eyes are on, and under, big trucks

Brea police officer Robert Conner inspects the axles and tires on a big rig at the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Checkpoint along the Orange (57) Freeway at Tonner Canyon. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

BREA – They barrel down freeways, rumble through city streets and climb steep grades carved through canyons.

Each day, thousands of commercial trucks travel through Orange County – hauling trash, loaded with goods and carrying construction materials.

And on a recent morning, Brea Officer Mark Kane stood under a 57 Freeway overpass and watched a stream of the large vehicles motor by.

"Just a typical day in Tonner Canyon," he said. "A lot of trucks, a lot of violations."

Kane and fellow Brea Officer Robert Conner joined cops from across north Orange County – Anaheim, Irvine, Fullerton and the California Highway Patrol – in a commercial-truck inspection checkpoint on a recent weekday near the Tonner Canyon Road exit off of the 57 Freeway. Officers participating in the allied effort inspected vehicles for trucking-law violations.

Started in 1985, the Brea Police Department's Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Program is responsible for monitoring shipping traffic on city streets, enforcing local, state and federal regulations for any commercial truck. Other agencies have similar details.

Brea is an especially busy region for large truck traffic, with the massive Olinda Alpha Landfill logging 1,000 truck trips a day, the 57 Freeway connecting shipping traffic between the Inland Empire and Orange County and, more locally, the city's network of commercial distribution centers. Conner and Kane, the department's two officers assigned to the program, keep busy.

Patrolling city streets in ten-hour shifts, four days a week in full-size pickups, their job is to find trucks exceeding the state's weight limit and those traversing city streets not marked as designated truck routes. They've cited truck drivers for driving under the influence or improperly logging hours behind the wheel, or for pulling vehicles overloaded with cargo by as much as 40,000 pounds or loaded with hazardous materials that aren't properly labeled.

The officers have stopped trucks carrying burning trash.

"There's not a real typical day," said Kane on a recent morning in the Police Department's briefing room. A 24-year veteran of the department, Kane estimated he has issued more than 10,000 violations in his 13 years in the commercial-enforcement program.

Trucking violations can range from $100 to $8,000 in fine and court costs. In many cases, citations go to the trucking companies and not the drivers.

To train for the specialized program, officers attend an 80-hour commercial enforcement seminar in Sacramento conducted by the CHP. Kane and Conner have backgrounds is commercial trucking, and both had commercial-vehicle licenses prior to joining the Brea police force. Kane drove a bus, while Conner drove a Brink's security truck.

Brea police officer Robert Conner inspects the axles and tires on a big rig at the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Checkpoint along the Orange (57) Freeway at Tonner Canyon. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Brea Officer Mark Kane stops a truck for inspection at the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Checkpoint. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Brea police Officer Mark Kane cites truck driver Larry Coffey's fabrication company for lacking a carrier identification for his big rig. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Officer Robert Conner watches truckers exiting the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Checkpoint while truck driver David Gallo, reflected in a side-view mirror, waits for clearance to leave. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Officer Mark Kane runs a check on the driver's license of a trucker as well as his vehicle and insurance status effort. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Mark Kane, with the Brea Police Department, explains to truck driver Kenneith Notter that he will be issuing a fix-it ticket to the company Notter works for. The insurance card for the vehicle was not current. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
As part of a multi-agency policing effort, Irvine police officer S. Crones examines the tightness of cargo straps as well as hazardous materials and other safety concerns on this big rig stopped at the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Checkpoint near the Orange (57) Freeway at Tonner Canyon. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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